Education Week staff writer Evie Blad explores some of the nonacademic issues that bear on students’ learning. Join her for insights, news, and analysis on a wide range of issues including school climate, student engagement, children’s well-being, and student behavior and discipline.

"Commercial food giants such as ConAgra, General Mills, and Schwann— along with other members of the School Nutrition Association (SNA)—have donated thousands of dollars to the campaign accounts of members of the Agriculture subcommittee, which holds jurisdiction over the USDA and the national Food and Nutrition Service. Overall, food processing industry employees and political action committees—not all members of the SNA—have given over $117,000 to members of the subcommittee in the 2014 cycle alone."

That includes more than $19,000 to Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt, the Republican chair of the committee who has spoken in support of the waiver rider, the Sunlight Foundation reports.

The rider, attached to the proposed House agriculture appropriations bill, would require the USDA to allow schools that have seen a net operating loss in their food service budgets over a six-month period to opt out of the heightened school meal nutrition standards in 2014-15. Supporters of the waiver plan, including the SNA, say it would give schools time to adjust to the new rules and to address concerns about food waste and declining participation in their meal programs.

Opponents of the plan argue that it's merely a way to delay implementation of the rules until they can be done away with entirely through reauthorization of the child nutrition act. Any concerns about implementation can be addressed through flexibility, which the USDA has already provided in some cases, they say.

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